The Apartment
by HamPickleSandwich
Summary: Adopted bunny. "She had a tough life trying to raise her twin children on her own, but things are about to change, starting with a move into an apartment that has some rather odd residents. Humanized stitchpunks." Rated T because that's how I roll.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: Yes, guys, I am alive! So if you're looking at this and thinking "Wow, this looks familiar, I think Ham here is a story thief".. well, that's partly true. This was mostly not written by me, has been changed here and there, BUT LET ME EXPLAIN MYSELF. I adopted a plot bunny from Tora Marikama, because the story was just begging to be written. So Tora gave me a bit of advice - use the bunny in the story except add the names. And that is why this looks a bit familiar. I hope you enjoy my first humanised 9 fiction! **_

* * *

She slammed the car door shut and gave a satisfied sigh at the sight of the building in front of her. The moving truck had yet to arrive, not that they had much. All of it fit in the back of the car except for the furniture.

She moved purposefully to the building and up the stairs. She could hear two pairs of feet pitter pattering on the metal steps behind her in an attempt to keep up. She finally reached the seventh room and dug a key out of her pocket. After struggling with the old handle for a moment, she managed to fling the door open.

She spun around in wonderment at the bare room. It was very small, with only two closet sized rooms and one bathroom, but to her, it was heaven.

It was the start of their brand new life.

Ava Kennedy paused, holding her hands out to the two small kids standing in the doorway in invention and asked, "Well, what do you think?"

Her twin six year olds, Tanya and Jorje, took in the room with their large eyes, continuously blinking as if they couldn't believe that it was all theirs, before smiling their approval.

Laughing, she took a moment to peer into the larger room and announced, "It might be a tight fit, but I bet we could get the bunk bed in there. You'll have a room all to yourselves!"

Feeling rather giddy, she ran out the door and announced, "Come on, let's get the stuff!" She took the steps two at a time, nearly tripped on the second floor landing, and skidded around to the back of her car. She popped the trunk open and handed some bags to the kids while trying to keep the rest of it from falling out of the car.

Taking a hold of her own load, she used her elbow to close the trunk and took off back up the stairs after her twins, who at one point dropped the bags stuffed to the brim with their bedding stuff and had to chase after them as they rolled down the stairs.

Ava paused to wait for them, and as the pair came running back up she playfully jeered, "I'm going to beat you!" She laughed in sheer joy as she came up the last step…and came to complete halt.

Thankfully she wasn't that close to the stairs, so when her son and daughter ran into her they didn't fall over and crack their heads open on the steps. Ava recognized the man standing in front of her door as the landlord. She honestly didn't like him but the rent was much lower then she had been expecting to pay so she swallowed her pride and decided to go ahead and move here.

"You left your room unlocked, door wide open." he said bluntly, key ring still in hand from when he locked their door shut.

"I was coming right back…" she tried to explain; readjusting the bags in her hand before she dropped them. He sneered back at her.

"I am not going to be held reasonable for any robberies. You make sure you lock that door every time you leave, no matter how long you think you'll be out."

She balked at the illogical demand, "We're just moving in! I, my children and the movers are going to running in and out for an hour or so and I'm the only one with a key."

"Regardless, you make sure that door is locked." he sauntered past them, giving a mincing look to the twins who ducked behind their mom. He paused at the stairs, suddenly remembering something, and said over his shoulder, "And keep the noise down. Some of my renters work night shifts and would not appreciate being woken up. If you need anything, I'm in room one."

She saw the look on her children's faces and her heart cringed for them. They had been the last ones out of the room and were probably beating themselves up for it. "It's not your fault. We just need to remember to close the door behind us from now on, okay?" she reassured them, giving them each a kiss on the forehead. She unlocked the room again.

"Hopefully not all of our neighbors are like him."

The excitement of moving in returned, and the siblings dragged their bags in. Ava paused, noticing something out of the corner of her eye. She let out a breath of relief.

The moving truck arrived.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note: I hope you liked reading that first chapter. Well, I guess if you enjoyed the original then your emotions would not have been much diffrent but anyway... I thought I may as well post this up straight away because originally I was going to have this as the first chapter anyway but I think this way it makes much more sense. Thanks again to Tora for letting me use this plot bunny! Also, I don't own 9, because Shane Acker does, and I'm not Shane Acker... as much as I'd like to be. XD **_

**_Oh, and one more thing: _Bold writing is for when Jorje is speaking, **_Italic writing is for when Tanya is speaking. _

* * *

Ava gave a sigh of relief as the movers stepped out of their truck – the one sitting in the passenger seat gave a friendly wave as he headed towards the back of the vehicle to access their cargo. Unlocking the door once again, Ava bobbed down to the children's eye level.

"I think it might be best if one of you stay on either side of the door. Mr. Landlord shouldn't get too mad if we have the best guards in the country protecting the apartment, eh? Try not to get in the way, though." The elder twin, Jorje, nodded. Ava smiled at her son, tousling his hair before putting her bag down and jogging down the steps.

* * *

It hadn't taken long to get what little furniture they had into the tiny apartment. It had turned out to be a lot cosier than Ava expected, with the tiny coffee table actually fitting in comfortably with the sofa bed. She and the movers had only just been able to manage putting the bunk bed into the other room with the two colourful little bureaus. In less than an hour, the empty apartment had now become sparsely decorated with furniture and bags. A small pile of boxes were stacked in the corner. As bleak as the sight would have looked to anyone else, the little family stared back in delight – it was a place to call their own... a sanctuary, if one wished to call it that.

"Well? What do you think?" Ava peered carefully at her children, searching for signs of disappointment. Jorje beamed up at her; mirroring his sister's movements exactly. Amused, the younger twin Tanya began to giggle silently, her strawberry curls bouncing with the movement. The mother grinned – grabbing her babies suddenly and falling backwards on the couch in excitement. Though the twins made no noise, it was clear that there was no emotion but bliss in the apartment.

* * *

"...Yes, Mom, the room is, well, roomy enough... I'm about to go shopping; Jorje and Tanya will be coming with me..." Ava balanced the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she hooked clothes on coat hangers. They hung without problems in the tiny cupboard, much to her surprise. She was expecting to have to go and buy a rack like the ones performers hung their costumes on. "Anyway, Mom," she continued, "turns out we can't leave the room without locking the door. You wouldn't like him at all. I think his name was Jefferson or something. Yeah, I know. I won't, Mom – there's no way I'm going to go look for another place when I just got here! It looks like a really good neighbourhood... yeah; the kids are going to the local elementary school. They start next week. Yes. No. No, Mom, they don't need new clothes yet. I got Jorje about 3 pairs last week. Yes, I remembered Tanya's new dress..."

Tanya tuned out, no longer interested in the conversation taking place over their new landline. Quiet music played from the little CD player discreetly set up on the floor. The soft voices of Simon and Garfunkel soothed her; calmed her overexcited nerves. Watching the old streets slip away and falling asleep to wake up to a brand new one had been a very big, great, life changing thing.

Peeking out the window cautiously, Tanya observed her new 'backyard'. There was a little tree in the corner of the car park. The driveway was part of a main street; she could see a hairdressers and a pharmacy opposite. Further down she recalled passing a McDonalds and a mall. Tanya frowned at the thought of junk food being so close – her mother hated the stuff. She'd never tried it before... come to think of it; she'd never had junk food. She was shaken out of her simple thought by her brother. His fingers flickered with the clumsiness of a child having just learned sign language; though the message was clear.

**We're going to the mall soon. **

_I know... _

**Who is Mommy talking to?**

_Grandma. _

The brief conversation was interrupted by the sound of their mother hanging up the phone. The young siblings looked at their mother in admiration as she sighed; looking into the modest mirror she had hung up on the wall. There was no denying it; their mommy was the prettiest one around.

Ava Kennedy had become a mother at the youthful age of 20, though instead of her appearance deteriorating with the pregnancy she had simply become more radiant. Her auburn hair hung loosely from its usual ponytail; swinging side to side as she weaved through the furniture. Her beauty did not stop there – in all his six years Jorje could not help but notice the eyes of passing men give her figure a double take. Ava was not a very curvy person, and she was a little petite, but what she had worked for her very well. Jorje blinked in surprise when her hazel eyes focused on him.

"Ready to go, honey?" The mall! He had nearly forgotten. Tanya grinned at him as she pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, signing a cheery little tease back to their mother. Ava laughed, ruffling his hair. Jorje blushed before tottering away from the window to get the door.

A sudden knocking at the door stopped the family in their tracks.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Well! It's been a little while since I've been able to do any updating of any sort, so I thought I'd better get this done to make sure I still had your attention. Sorry that there was a bit of a delay, school started again and I just wasn't in the mood (I got under a bit of pressure) to do any writing. Thankyou to Black-Hat Jack, TheCrazyArtist, LittlePlagueSprit, CreativeJournalist and reviewer for the reviews! I'm glad to see that people are liking the story already! Hopefully I'll get more reviews as I update more. Now we get to see a new character - hope he's familiar! Characters 1-9 belong to Shane Acker, and the original apartment idea belongs to Tora Marikama. Lots of love from HamPickleSandwich. **_

* * *

Theodore Alexander stood in front of the closed flat door with a slight air of quiet confidence. He waited patiently for the door to open – after hearing from Al that the young woman with the twin children had moved in, he had remembered the baking he had done the day before, and resolved to take it as a homecoming gift. The only nervous thought on his mind was of whether or not it was presumptive of him to take the brownies. Glancing up at the fading 7 painted on the door, he wondered if they were actually inside at that moment – perhaps they had walked to the shopping centre up the road… The door opened in the middle of his thinking, catching him of guard. The woman who peered out of the slightly closed door gave an obvious sigh of relief before pulling it open further.

"Hello…" she breathed, clearly surprised at his appearance. It was then, he recalled, that they had not actually met in person. He had known about her from Al's description of when she had come to see the vacancy. She was a lot prettier than he described – her brown eyes sparkled with excitement, her reddish brown hair curling into a perfect ponytail. Pushing his glasses further up his nose, he began.

"Hi there! I'm Theodore – from apartment 2. Al – the landlord – told me you'd just moved in; just thought I'd drop off a little homecoming gift for you. We're very friendly here – though I suppose I should assume that Al didn't show his softer side?" he queried, looking up at her expectantly. The woman blinked before grinning.

"Apparently we can't leave the doors open. I'm Ava. Oh! And these are my kids – Tanya and Jorje." Two children had appeared from behind her legs – bespectacled fraternal twins who shared the same ocean blue eyes. The girl, obviously braver than her brother, grinned at him while she fiddled with her strawberry curls. The boy stared at him solemnly; sizing him up.

"Would you like to come in? We were just about to go food shopping but we can put it off a little while." Ava continued. Theodore grinned, glad that it was all going well so far. He remembered the countless times in his youth when others gave him a strange stare before slamming the door in his face. She gestured for him to follow her inside the modest flat. The daughter closed the door behind the party; confident that he was no threat to their well-being.

"Tea? Coffee? We don't have any of the fancy stuff yet, unfortunately. I really need to get a coffee machine…" Ava bustled within the miniscule kitchen as he gazed around the apartment. It was true to his first impression – modest, cozy. The small family was obviously an honest single parent operation.

"I'll be fine with tea, thank you. Can I be of any help?"

"No, it's fine. The kettle will boil in a minute or so… You were saying something about the landlord before?" Ava looked at him quickly before turning back to the two mugs by the sink. She dropped a teabag into each.

"Al… he might ask you to call him Mr. Jefferson or Alistair at best. He doesn't take well to youngsters, unfortunately. There have been trespassers every now and then; and he's getting to his final tether. The poor lad from apartment 9, he-" Ava cut him off, a slight shot of worry in her eyes.

"Trespassing?" Ava's eyes were a little wide.

"The boys from apartments 5, 6 and 9 have night classes, though Kinder doesn't take them as often. They're always having some friend or other over, you see. And, well," he stopped, chuckling. "Arthur has a few girlfriends, to say the least! He's about your age, I should say."

"Oh." Ava replied, all signs of nervousness gone from her face. The kettle had since boiled, and it was with this statement that she brought the mugs to the bench top. Tanya and Jorje appeared, clambering onto stools with apparent curiosity at the container that he had brought along.

"I'm afraid I was a little presumptuous in choosing what to bring – would your children like some brownies?" Theodore asked after a moment, a little embarrassed. Ava looked at the container, and then at her children – who looked up at her pleadingly. She was at a loss of what exactly to say.

"We couldn't possibly take all of those, sir-"

"Please, it's Theodore. And do take them, I give them around anyway – that is, if you want them." Hoping he hadn't been too forward or pressing, he sat back a little. After a while, Ava laughed.

"Alright, you two, one each, and be sure to thank him, won't you? We'll save some more for dessert – I'm afraid I'm not much of a sweet tooth, so we won't have all of them, but thank you very much for the gift!" she said, a little nervous. Theodore understood in an instant – she didn't really know how to tell him that she didn't usually keep cakes in her house. He smiled softly anyway, taking the lid off the container.

"Let me know if there's anything I can do for you." he offered, taking the knife Ava had passed to him and cutting off a small square.

* * *

The shopping trip had gone reasonably well. Where there were mostly empty shelves were boxes of cereal and muesli, a basket of fruit, and various snacks and things to eat. In their laps was a simple bowl of noodles with steamed peas and baby carrots. Tanya and Jorje sat on the floor, watching the video in front of them eagerly. Woody and Buzz were talking about cowboy camp and delicious hot 'schmoes' as Ava looked over her shifts for the coming week. Her job was easier to obtain – a qualified personal trainer; she spotted the vacancy at one of the local gyms in the busier side of town and was accepted for the job with open arms. All she needed was to teach a cardio class every Wednesday evening and the rent would be easily paid for.

"Eli! Wait up; I just gotta grab something…" The voice cut into her thoughts. It was a man from their floor. _Must be one of the guys Theodore was talking about…_

"WILL YOU NOT SHOUT LIKE THAT? THE WHOLE NEIGHBOURHOOD CAN HEAR YOU!" Tanya and Jorje must have jumped a foot high at the voice of their landlord. Ava herself was rather startled at the volume of his voice, though decided not to pry into the issues of her neighbours.

"Look! The little dog just came in! Isn't it cute? Give me your bowls; I'll take care of the washing up." she offered cheerfully, with the aim of reassuring her children. Jorje signed a trembling 'thank you' as she took the empty bowl from him.

"Remember what Mr. Alexander was saying about Mr. Jefferson having to deal with trespassing and all. He's just a little on edge. We didn't do anything wrong – it's not like the television is on really loudly…"

It was the end of a long Sunday. The children would start school in the morning.


	4. Chapter 4

**_After what must seem like an absolute bajillion years, I have finally put my arse in gear and written an anticipated (since I suspect it wasn't highly anticipated) 4th chapter. I'd like to profusely apologise for the lateness of the chapter. I'd also like to apologise if Ava, who, as you may have guessed (Creator help you if you haven't made the connection, though), is 7, is a little OOC in this chapter. Her behaviour will be explained in time, however, and when that has been done, I'd like to hope that you understand why she's like this. Also, I'd very much like to know what you all think of the portrayal of this new character that is introduced. No, I'm not going to spoil you here! You must read on to find out who it is! Anyway, point is: reviews are love. -HPS_**

**Disclaimer: Characters from the movie 9 belong to Shane Acker and Focus Features.  
The original idea of this story belongs to Tora Marikama, who very kindly let me adopt the original plot bunny. **

* * *

The sun shone down on the lot, basking everything around the small family in a golden glow as Ava unlocked the car with fumbling digits. She had not slept very well the previous night, though whether or not this was related to nerves for her children was unknown. It was most likely because of this preoccupation that only Tanya noticed a tired man exit from his own apartment on the first floor, nursing a large mug of what was presumably coffee. The reason why Tanya found this man so fascinating was, first of all, he had a hand gently held over his left eye. When he had placed the mug on top of his beaten up Chevy, the girl watched with interest as he tied a patch over this eye. However, Tanya observed no more than this, as her mother gently helped her into the car, making sure her seat belt was done up properly. By this time, Jorje had also noticed the other preoccupied man; however, both adults were yet to notice the other.

It wasn't until they had driven several streets away from the flat that Ava noticed the Chevrolet following her every move. It was very unnerving that they were being followed so exactly, and considering the circumstances… Ava cringed at the thought. She watched her son sign to her.

**What's wrong, Mommy?**

"Nothing, honey." Ava mumbled, giving a feeble smile to her son. She was glad that he was rather unable to see out the back window without turning his head, otherwise he might have become very alarmed at what he saw. The man in the car behind them had a similar height and build… and yet… he looked different. As she thought carefully about this new development, the school loomed ever closer. Still, the car was behind them, and Ava was willing to bet that once their car stopped, his would, too, and he would get out after they did. He wasn't a parent, she couldn't see any children. He would be arriving at school too late to be a teacher… so why was he following them?

By the time she parked the car properly, Ava was frightened. The car was parked right behind them in the parking lot – granted, the closest one to the school out of what was available, but it wasn't the only place left to park! Trembling, she left her vehicle and helped her kids out before locking the doors.

"Excuse me…" a voice interrupted. She let out a cry, dropping her car keys as she whipped around. The man standing before her was a peculiar sight indeed; olive skinned, but wearing a pale (Grey? Beige? Ava was too hyped up to care) turtleneck jumper, even though it wasn't that cold. His hair was dark brown – the man had obviously tried very hard to groom it – and swept almost stylishly over his left eye. However, this did not hide the dark leather patch over his left eye; which in turn did not entirely cover the angry (though faded) vertical scar which started and finished on either side of the patch. His expression was, to say the least, startled. Clearly, he hadn't expected her to react like this.

"…Yes?" she squeaked in reply. Jorje moved instinctively behind her legs, though Tanya did not move. There seemed to be a look of recognition on her small, round face.

"I just… You're the woman that just moved in apartment 7, aren't you? At the apartment block on Green Street?" he asked. Not what she had expected him to say.

"How do you know where I live?" she breathed, sounding a little accusatory. Upon noticing the slightly hurt look upon this man's face, she mentally kicked herself. She was probably being too wound up about the whole issue. There was no way that he was sent by anyone, nobody but her parents knew where they lived now. Not even her old friends knew where she had moved to.

"I live in Apartment 5..." he explained carefully. "I also work here." He finished quickly, a note of daring in his voice, as if he challenged her to defy him. Immediately, Ava became immensely embarrassed. Her cheeks became very hot as she broke out in a cold sweat, trembling in relief. She was being too paranoid. Tanya tugged Ava's hand gently.

_Mommy… you didn't see him get into his car. He didn't see you either._

"That would explain it." she replied shakily to her daughter, before turning back to her new neighbor.

"I'm… really, really sorry for being so paranoid, I just…" she trailed off, unable to finish. The man smiled suddenly, his kind demeanor suddenly becoming too obvious. There was no way she could have confused this man for a psycho killer. Clearly, he wouldn't hurt a fly.

"I'm Eli," he said. He approached her for a handshake, which she took graciously. "Eli Montague." he added, almost as an afterthought. She blushed further at the touch of his warm, gentle hand.

"I'm Ava. Ava W-Kennedy." she stammered, forgetting her name for a moment. Something about Eli had made her comfortable… a little too comfortable. However, the feeling was pleasant, and he didn't seem to notice her almost mistake – that, or he decided to ignore it. He seemed like the kind of person that didn't ask questions.

"It's nice to meet you." he quipped, releasing her hand and shifting the weight of his backpack. He took another mouthful out of the enormous travel mug, before looking down at the twins standing by her side. He grinned at them toothily, before glancing back at her.

"Your kids?" he asked politely. It was true, they did not resemble her as closely as she would have liked them to, but she nodded all the same. She brought them in front of her, one hand on Jorje's left shoulder, the other, Tanya's right. Smiling proudly, like all mothers do, she introduced them.

"Jorje and Tanya, huh?" Eli mused, bending down to greet the children. He looked at Jorje for a moment longer than Tanya, smiling at him for a moment.

"You know," he told Jorje, "You look a lot like my friend who takes classes with me. Same hair, really. Only his is black." He looked back up at Ava. "Have you met anyone else? Artie lives in number 9."

Surprised by the sudden question, Ava shook her head. Eli stood up, taking a look at his watch as he did so. A look of concern took over his features as he read the time, before going to lock his car properly.

"The bell's about to ring. Do you know where the General Office is?" he asked. Having been here before, Ava nodded. Instead, Eli accompanied them up to the front doors. Wanting to know more about this man, Ava engaged small talk.

"What class do you teach?" she asked offhandedly. He glanced at her, before looking back toward the school.

"Actually… I'm not a teacher. Not yet, anyhow. I'm a developmental psychologist and also the school counselor, to be honest." He laughed. "This is going to sound stupid, but I always tell parents that I hope I never have to see their kids again. The past few years we've had some… problems with our older students, worse so than usual… mostly related to some of our, um-" he hesitated, glancing at Tanya, who had skipped ahead with her brother. "More disabled students." Eli finished, taking a quick look at Ava, whose expression remained indifferent.

"Tanya and Jorje are used to psychologists," Ava started, after a moment's hesitation. "You might have noticed, neither of them can talk." she said, smiling sadly.

"A genetic issue or…?" Eli asked, not wanting to make wrong assumptions. Ava sighed.

"There were some… problems. Jorje physically cannot speak, ever. Tanya, on the other hand, well…" Ava paused, unsure how to continue. "She is selectively mute, almost out of sympathy for her brother. It kills me, even watching them when they are so happy."

Eli said nothing as they entered the doorway. The school was becoming quiet, as children lined up outside classrooms. Tanya and Jorje watched them as they sent looks of interest at the odd group.

"How many teachers understand sign language?" Ava asked abruptly, just as Eli shut the door behind them. He grimaced, a memory flooding to his head of a recent meeting with the principal.

"None of the teachers know sign language…" he said slowly. Ava looked at him, panicked.

"Mrs. Hawks told me that someone did understand sign language!" she yelped.

"Someone does." he replied, with a small chuckle. Fate had very mysterious ways, he mused.

"Then who?"

"Me."


	5. Chapter 5

**_Yes. Yes, I updated a story. Yes, I know, you're all shaking your heads in disbelief. Please... as slow as I am, I fully intend to finish this story! Anyway, you get another glimpse of someone mysterious... and you get Ava doing some workouts, plus another little hint about her past. Blink and you'll miss it. _**

**_Kind regards, HamPickleSandwich (who is not dead... and who doesn't own any of the characters from 9, whom these characters are human incarnations of... they belong to Shane Acker, much to my dismay.)_**

* * *

The gym was a friendly place, despite the upper-class reputation for hosting the local celebrities and the richer people in town. Ava unpacked her clothes slowly, methodically; glad to restore some familiarity into her new life. Already, she had made acquaintances with Kendra; the giggly young receptionist who habitually kept a pen tucked under her impossibly curly hair. Robert was her boss; who had already made her the offer to just work out and get the feel of the place before she was introduced to her class on Wednesday, and Toot – the sarcastic owner of the building, who said nothing except a drawled initiation speech and a quiet handing of client files for her to study.

And – yes! Her feet began to do what they did best. Dressed in her workout clothes (a cropped top and bike shorts), she had stepped on the treadmill with the best view of the place and began to run. Having done her stretches before she changed, she started out slowly, letting her mind get back into the swing of the exercise. Her determined smile grew as she noticed the not-so-subtle stares she was getting... She acknowledged that she did have a body and face that worked for her... but seriously, did they not notice the tell-tale signs of stressed regions of her body from being a mother? Was it the absence of a wedding ring? She shook her head; pumping up the speed and allowing the music playing over the loudspeaker take her away...

Unbeknownst to her, there was a figure outside the window that had walked past and stopped in front of the window. She had caught the eye of the figure, and as they stared, transfixed, it became clear that there was something else going on that day. It was the mysterious ways of destiny that would entwine their fates into a complicated string of events that would end in ringing bells and shining whistles, and then maybe she'd give them her number, and-

"MUST you stop at EVERY window on this street? I thought when you said you'd help me with my groceries; you'd actually be useful – not gawking at this thing and that thing and those in between!" an irritated voice broke into the runaway fantasy. The figure jumped, nearly dropping the paper bags that they clutched in their hands.

"Oh! Er... s-sorry, Al." they replied, grinning sheepishly. Al glared.

"That's Mr. Jefferson to you, whippersnapper. Don't forget that I'm doing a huge favour by letting you stay-"

"Sorry! Uh, Mr. Jefferson. Sorry."

The little family were late home, having sat with the principal and their new friend for some time, discussing a schedule in which the latter could monitor Jorje's development, and delve into the mystery of Tanya's sympathetic choice to be mute. Ava and Eli sat inside the tiny kitchen, while her children played with a simple video game that Eli had brought up from his apartment beneath them ("It allows most young kids to relax around me when their parents aren't around," he explained. "Otherwise they get too focused on my eye and are afraid to answer questions I ask them.").

"So... do you think there's a chance that... that Tanya might be able to learn to speak again?" Ava asked quietly, sipping her tea in quiet fascination. Eli smiled a little, glancing at the little girl as he spoke.

"There's a stage in a child's life in where they have to learn to speak, what they like to call the 'critical period' for learning their first language. Now, because I haven't had much time to assess the situation, there's a chance that what happened at the time Jorje lost his voice physically has become a repressed memory..." he trailed off for a moment, noticing the pained look on her face as she glanced at her son. "Or maybe suppressed, which means it will be a lot easier to deal with whatever she has to face. It's possible she has a social phobia which prevents her speaking, on top of this incredible sympathy... I'd rather deal with a lot of this stuff while you're around... for moral support." he finished, drumming his fingers on the table for a moment. He had only one eye, but he could still see, even from this point in time, that this woman's two children were not the only ones that needed help. Having noticed Eli's look of concern, Ava left her train of thought.

"Mmm, of course, of course. I finish about a half hour after the kids do, though on Wednesdays I do take an evening class at the gym... Whenever's good for you, I can do." she breathed, blushing slightly at admitting that she wasn't around to pick her kids up when everyone else went home. As if they weren't going to be gawked at enough...!

"Oh! Well, er, unless it's a bit too soon for me to offer – I can take them home, if you'd like... I finish when the students do, and all..." he offered. Ava smiled.

"That would be absolutely wonderful, Eli... I don't know what I can do for you in return, though!"

"Call it a housewarming present," Eli leaned back in his chair, grinning. "That and hopefully you can turn a blind eye to any possible shenanigans you might step into." Ava laughed.

"I'll drink to that."

Outside, someone emerged from the apartment next door. He was rather surprised to find that the lights next door were actually on... they had never been on before. Had he been asleep all day? No.. wait, no, he'd been meditating... and studying... and there was probably a drink or two in between, but he had had a long night beforehand.

"Maybe the cards have something to say about this..." he murmured, before returning inside his own lodgings.


	6. Chapter 6

**_So after an insanely long time I finally posted another chapter... I've been lazy about it mostly because in case you were wondering, this new character was hard to portray in a way that was different to his personality but still believable. Please let me know if you can think of ways to improve him. You'll also find a little more information about the mysterious exchange in the previous chapter.. and a snippet of the "past lives" of 2 characters. Also, first person to find stitchpunks gets a cookie!_**

I don't own 9, cause that whole universe belongs to Shane Acker ;(  
This plot bunny was adopted from Tora Marikama (I hope you like the revisions I made)  
HamPickleSandwich xx

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After some weeks had passed, Ava had learnt to measure time by the time in between seeing her new neighbours. She always saw Mr. Alexander (Theodore, she always reminded herself) in the mornings when she went outside for fresh air as he tended to the flower boxes in the gardens... on Wednesdays, Eli would stumble out of apartment 5 (sometimes inexplicably out of the room two doors down from her, the occupant of which she still hadn't met), clutching at his thermos. He'd explained to her that he took a night class on Tuesdays –but of course, still having to work on Wednesdays, he wasn't exactly a cheery sunrise in the mornings. He was grateful to accept her offer of a ride to school. In turn, while Ava took her cardio class, Eli was taking the twins by public transport while quietly observing them in public.

The afternoons were characterised by Mr. Jefferson reminding all homecoming parties that the weekly rent was due, though Fridays and weekends were marked by the rush of the large yet quiet Jonathan Othello. Already, Ava had made a friend in the giant, and found that he was a lot gentler than he looked. They had met at the very gym which Ava worked out, and though it was clear that the man had some struggles with kicking his nicotine habit, their common interests in physical exercise and eating healthy foods (though their chosen meals differed for their purposes) had been enough to retain a positive relationship between the two neighbours.

It was another Wednesday, marking the third Wednesday they had spent in the new house. Tanya and Jorje had become used to their altered routine already – this week, Tanya held the apartment key in her hands excitedly as she tottered up the stairs. She had been signing eagerly to Eli about the project they'd been given at school and how she and Jorje were going to do it together when the door to Apartment 6 suddenly burst wide open. Both children jumped in fright – diving behind Eli's legs; though Eli was more than a little concerned at the wisps of smoke that were floating out the door. He leaned forward; only to be a little startled when he was met with the spray of a fire extinguisher.

"Oh, ELI! I'm so sorry, I didn't see ya d'ere!" cried the occupant of the apartment. Tanya and Jorje, clutching onto the legs of their friend for dear life, peered out behind them in curiosity. It seemed that curiosity had been the perfect response to the new situation, because out the door emerged a most peculiar person.

"I don't even wanna ask," Eli grumbled, wiping his face on his sleeve. "But you're gonna scare these poor kids outta their skins if you don't be careful!"

The young man whom Eli spoke to had not noticed the twins until this remark. Suddenly, he peered down at them through his pince-nez glasses. The man truly was odd, Tanya observed, to be wearing such funny clothes. From head to toe, the man who looked over them both curiously was the exact opposite of what she had until now considered to be normal for a person.

A far cry from Eli's sensibly groomed hair; the young man's black hair, though clean, was the messiest she had ever seen. It stood up in end in some places, waved around his ears... it simply looked like it had refused to lie flat for as long as it had existed. He wore a shirt, the sleeves pushed up to his skinny white elbows. Wrapped around was an apron smeared with red (Tanya hoped it was paint) and some sooty stains that suggested he had been playing with matches. Before she could observe him further, the man's face bloomed into a wide smile.

"Vell hello d'ere!" he greeted, his face leaning in closer towards hers. He took her hand and gave it a little kiss. She blushed to herself as he turned to her twin, placing Jorje's small hand in the grasp of his spidery fingers and shaking it. Both were taken aback by this greeting...until he made a funny little bow from where he was on his knees.

"Kinder Matthews, at ya service! I gotta good eye for da palm readin' und fortune tellin'... and vy are dey so quiet?" he finished, looking up at Eli. By now, the twins clutched each other; laughing their sweet yet soundless laugh. The older man pulled his friend up to his feet, brushing some soot off Kinder's shoulder. Eli gestured to the twins as he spoke.

"These are the new kids from Apartment 7... The girl is Tanya, and the boy is Jorje – that's J-O-R-J-E... Jorje is incapable of talking and Tanya has selective mutism."

"Aww... dat's too bad. Ah vell, come on, I gotta read your hands now, standard procedure." Kinder replied, gesturing for them to follow him into the room. Eli stood for a moment, unsure. Ava hadn't met Kinder... following the kind-hearted yet crazy kid into his room without the twins' mother close by was probably a bad idea...

"Er... Kinder, we do have work to do-"

"Vat are you sounding like dat for? Dis'll only take a coupl'a minutes! Don' vorry, I'll make my fondue gook vonce I clean dat mess up later." he explained, pointing to the smoking pot in the middle of the room. Tanya and Jorje had already entered the room, peering at the new sights curiously.

It was apparent that Kinder had not let Mr. Jefferson take a look at the room for weeks. The place was a mess. Books were stacked on the floor, while the battered bookcase was clearly straining under the weight of his texts. The obnoxious odour of smoke lingered in the room, mixed with the acrid scent of turpentine and spray paint, underlined with a hopeless spray of lavender air freshener. Eli cringed as he watched the curious twins go straight to the smoking pot.

"I vouldn' touch dat." Kinder said abruptly, without looking up from his place at the table. He was shuffling a set of strange cards quickly, his hands weaving in and out of the pack like a ribbon caught by a breeze. In understanding, the twins scurried carefully back to where Eli had moved. There was a peculiar table in the kitchen; the major difference between the layout of his and their apartment.

"We may as well get this over with," Eli sighed. Boldly, Tanya climbed onto the chair by her newfound friend. She gawked at the table in wonder, taking in the shiny purple tablecloth, the pile of cards with funny pictures on them. She blushed as Kinder took her hand tenderly, flipping it over to brush her fingers over her palm reverently.

"Vell... vat do ve have here? De lines a' faint, probably 'cause d'ere so young, but I can see vat I'll do." He peered closely at her stubby children's digits.

"First of all... you've gotta strong life line, d'ere, vich means dat you got good relationships vith your family... you love your mama very much – vich I t'ink anybody vould!" he laughed. Eli smiled.

"D'ere's a little head line... you got potential. Means dat de mind is strong. Can also mean you can be creative. And dat funny one d'ere should be da heart line, but it's not really d'ere. You've gotta bit of an issue vith talkin', shy little sveethart!" At this, Eli rolled his eyes.

"I think we all knew that, Kin – she's selectively mute!" he muttered. At this point he began to look through the books at the other end of the table. Kinder quite equally dismissed this comment with an obvious eye roll.

"Now... as for d'at destiny line... very faint. You haven't been able t'a adapt very vell to some situations... so probably means you won't adapt so well to vat's coming up..." Kinder shook his head as Tanya leaned in closer out of interest. Eli stifled a yawn as he flicked through a large sketchbook.

"I von't bore you any further with my "hand nonsense", mortal." Kinder murmured darkly. He looked back at Tanya with a small smile.

"Your hand is very young for me to tell jus' yet, but I t'ink dat it's a philosophical von, vich means dat you are supposed to be quiet and intellectual..." he looked at Jorje. "Vould you like yours read?"

Oddly, Jorje had begun to back away from the table as if from fear of mysterious forces. He shook his head wildly, moving to hide behind the much 'safer' adult in the room. Eli, who hadn't noticed, was looking at a strangely familiar looking picture with interest. The subjects looked like eerie children's toys with single serial numbers on the back.

"Hey, have I seen this picture before?" Eli asked, holding up a picture of a figure with a suspiciously familiar eye patch. Kinder wordlessly jumped up in a panic, snatching the book away. He held it tightly in his arms, glaring at the older man with his lips screwed up in a pout.

"Vork in progress."

The evening saw little event, except for the two old men sitting outside their neighbouring apartments. It had begun to rain, a little unseasonably for the still warm weather. Alistair grumbled at the moisture – it did his arthritis no good. Theodore laughed.

"We're not young anymore, Al," he agreed, gesturing vaguely to his thick bifocals. "The doctor's started telling me that I'll need a cane for my leg... my old age is affecting the knee I hurt, back when I was married."

"Don't remind me." the elder smirked. He already had his own walking stick for particularly bad days like this. Faintly, he could hear the yells that suggested violent video game playing. He frowned again.

"Darn kids. Their game is too loud again – they seriously can't think that's not going to attract attention –"

"Oh, don't be so hard on them... besides, surely now that Ava's living here with her kids there'll be some influence from her?" Theodore joked. Al remembered something with a start.

"You know, something peculiar happened today," he began. Theodore looked at him, showing he was listening. "The boy went shopping with me today."

"That's not peculiar, Al – he genuinely likes you. You oughta give him a chance."

"That wasn't the strange thing – we walked past where Ms. Kennedy works. I saw her on one of those walking machines... and he'd seen her too, and was looking at her. Just looking at her! As if he'd never seen a woman his age before." he finished. The other man stared in amazement, before his face broke out into a smile.

"How astonishing! Just like that? He fell in love?" he asked eagerly. Al shrugged.

"They haven't met yet. This isn't Shakespeare, fool."

At this moment, a hulking figure emerged from his apartment. A trail of smoke lingered behind John Othello as he made his way down the staircase and towards his car.

"Working tonight, Jonathan?" Theodore called out. John turned around and moved to go under the cover of the upper floor's pathway.

"Fortunately, no..." he said. "I have the night off for the next few... just ducking out to get something to eat."

"Very well, don't let this old man keep you from your food, then."

As the man drove off in his truck-like ute; Alistair turned back again to the smaller man.

"The strangest thing about seeing the boy like that today was that he reminded me of you." he said quietly. Theodore's smile faded a little.

"I can see why you might have thought that." he murmured. Alistair patted his hand.

"She loved you too, brother. Remember that."


	7. Chapter 7

**_I wrote this chapter last night and today, and I'm pretty happy with it. I would like to say though, that firstly, I don't speak German, so if I made a mistranslation then I apologise. It's only one word though, I don't think I'm quite brave enough to put any German in there :) Also, I've become aware that the palm reading in the last chapter was a bit inaccurate, according to my old Psychology textbook (we studied pseudosciences). I won't go back and change it, now that it has been done, but I've tried to give an accurate reading for Ava. I'm not a fortune teller/psychic/mentalist/whatever. If you are, I'd be glad for your help._**

Lastly... if you have been following the story thus far but haven't really taken a moment to comment, don't be shy, let me know how you think it's going! If you have any ideas or requests or questions, I'd be glad to hear them. I can't really improve without good feedback. Now, on to the new chapter! -HPS  


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Work had gone well. Most of the clients, Ava discovered, were actually well known through the media or government (some were even national stars!) and thus paid for her services thoroughly. It probably helped that most of them, the ones that had vied for that elusive lunch-hour particularly, were experiencing the typical mid-life crisis. Already, she had been asked out to dinner by the lawyer whose firm was just down the road; to which she had laughed and replied that she already had a date with two six-year olds and a Disney movie.

But it was on the way home that it began to prey on her mind. How long had it been? Six months? Six years? It was then she noticed how dark it had become. The summer was over.

_The summer was over. It had been over for a month now; but it was hard to believe that just a month ago the sun existed in her life, when there had been mysterious bruises clouding her world. Her head was in her mother's lap; tears streaming down her face. It killed her that he lay practically lifeless in the next room – it killed her that she couldn't bear to stay with him. Worst of all, her own daughter was watching her, her expression stoic and pale. She was supposed to be strong, and yet the little girl was the only one who had not shed a single tear. _

The honking of a horn behind her made her jump and shriek. The light had been green for some seconds now and she hadn't moved. Hastily giving a signal of apology to the car behind her, she sped forward to catch the opportunity of movement. She tried to suppress her demons before she reached the apartment block; knowing that her distress over the dark memories would attract the concern of Eli and her kids. Unfortunately, her past was still weighing heavily on her mind when she pulled into the car park. She looked at the little bendy figurine standing on her dashboard.

"At least you never had to deal with my problems." she muttered, before getting out of the car. Locking it behind her, she made the familiar trudge up the steps to the sound of distant thunder; sports bag in hand. However, she hadn't been prepared for the sensation of small arms assaulting her legs before she even reached the apartment. She stumbled, nearly falling on Jorje with a cry of surprise. Ava assumed she had trod on one of his limbs, judging from how pale he looked.

"Oh, Jorje! I'm so sorry, did I hurt you?" she exclaimed, kneeling to embrace her son. He trembled a little before shaking his head. He looked back into Apartment 6, where Eli stood at the door. His expression betrayed his confusion and concern for the child in her arms.

"I don't know what happened, I'm sorry. He just started freaking out at something and wouldn't tell me what it was." he confessed, standing aside to let her in. Inside, Tanya sat with what was apparently the occupant of Apartment 6, her own expression spelling confusion. She signed to her mother patiently.

_He just asked Jorje if he wanted to read his hand. _

Ava looked from her daughter, to the man next to her, to her son. Before she could ask, Eli stepped between them hurriedly.

"Um, Ava, this is Kinder Matthews, he lives here and... er... is a psychic. Sort of. He's also improving on his English while he studies art and literature at the local college. Kinder, this is Ava Kennedy; she's the mother of Tanya and Jorje, though you know that." he explained, making appropriate gestures. Kinder stepped forward and shook her hand politely.

"I vould have introduced myself at some point... but I haven't had da time. Pleased to meet ya." he said. Ava noted his German accent, the information whirring in your head.

"...Doesn't your name mean 'child' in English?" she said, flatly. Kinder hesitated, before nodding.

"Mine parents had great humour back then, yes they did." he replied in an equally flat tone, before gesturing to the table. "I assure you I did nothing to scare da child, only offered da palm readin' and then he backed off like dat and shook like da leafs outside."

Ava picked up Jorje to reassure him before taking him back to the offending area. Jorje buried his face in her shoulder, clearly distressed by something enough to not want anything to do with it.

"Jorje, honey? Can you tell me what's wrong?" she asked softly, sitting at the table calmly. He only responded by holding her tighter, his glasses digging into her skin. She adjusted him to ease the pressure from his glasses before looking at Eli.

"I don't know what I can tell you. He might be a bit overtired." she said... though there was something horribly familiar about his behaviours. She handed him her key to the apartment.

"Jorje, why don't you go back home with Eli and Tanya. Remember Mr. Alexander came in the other day with carrot cake; maybe Eli can cut you a nice big piece?" she offered. Reluctantly, Jorje slipped out of her arms and followed their friend out of the room. She looked back at Kinder apologetically, who looked guilty.

"I'm sorry. My first impressions aren't so good." he said shyly. Ava smiled tiredly.

"It's not your fault. I'm not sure if Eli told you, he's been helping out with some psychological issues. They haven't had the best lot in life, I'm afraid." she admitted. Kinder nodded, inviting an awkward silence. Ava glanced at the tabletop, curiously looking at the tarot cards. Then she remembered what Tanya had told her.

"Tanya said something about reading hands?" she asked, trying to make small talk. The young man brightened considerably, his eyes glowing.

"I read Tanya's hand, she's gotta pretty good fortune, though I'm sensin' a bit a' cloudiness in her future. Though, I didn't read dat from her hands, I just kinda... saw it in her. I see it in you, too," he explained. "Vould you like da palm readin'?" he asked, boldly reaching for her hand. She grinned, letting him take it in his own hands. He made a noise of happiness in the clear lines in her palm.

"Dis palm is much easier ta read than da little ones," he started approvingly. "Your life line, though... is not as strong as Tanya's. I think you have some problems with trust, eh?" he quipped, tracing the lines with his delicate fingers. Ava silently nodded, letting him observe without interruption.

"Da heart line looks a bit longer dan da head line... vich means that you're a bit more emotional. Not a bad tink; but seeing as you got two marriage lines d'ere I am thinking dat you need to make da good choices before you find your love." he explained, completely absorbed in her hand. Ava pulled it away, surprised at his comments. She scrutinised the lines in her palm, trying to understand.

"Marriage lines?" she exclaimed. Calmly, Kinder took her hand back, showing her the lines on the edge of her hand, beneath her little finger. Sure enough, there were two.

"Da number of da lines says how many times you gonna get married, or how many big relationships you have, in da sense dat you love d'em." he explained reverently. He looked up.

"I'm guessing da first one was da fader of d'ose adorable little kids you got d'ere... but I'm not sure if you have met da second one yet. I'm sensin' he's got da dark hair, though." he finished, smirking.

"Really?" she asked, sincerely curious. Kinder laughed, shrugging.

"Dunno – da girls like ta hear dat all da time." he admitted. Ava laughed along with him in understanding. The palm reading was finished over tea; which did not reveal much more about her. The ridges in her nails apparently indicated a past shock, while her flared fingers indicated restlessness. Her long life line told Kinder about her good health.

Surprisingly, Kinder was a little confused about what her palm was saying. He guessed that there were some things that were weighing on her, but she was in good health, and he could sense a good future in her love life. But, as he had said before, he wasn't sure that her future was going to be totally great. He would confirm this if he could consult his tarot cards the next time she came to visit.

By now, Ava had forgotten her troubles from the car ride home. She left her strange neighbour with a pleasant goodbye – though it can be argued that she would not have felt so pleasant, had she seen the framed photograph of a red haired man grinning at the camera.


	8. Chapter 8

_**OMGOSH I'M NOT DEAD YAY! But I will say that I had to work especially to get this finished for you all by today, and I'd like to thank you all for being so patient! I wanted to do this for you as a Christmas present - so, may you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I'd like to say that I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. This is probably the chapter that everyone's been waiting for... and yes, there are little 9 easter eggs (or should I say christmas crackers?), so free cyber noms to whomever finds them both. **_

_**As usual, I'm not cool enough to own 9, cuz that belongs to Shane Acker.  
And again, let me know if characters are OOC... also cause I'm kinda bored if anyone has any questions so far, ask away! Obviously I can't give spoilers but I can give some information about our characters. Lots of love and Christmas kisses - HamPickleSandwich.**_

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Ava generally did not believe in things such as fate and destiny. A long time ago she had been different, indulging in 'love at first sight' and 'happily ever after' – but then her ever after became a nightmare and love had to be forgotten. As a mother of twins her children always came first no matter what – and it didn't matter that she didn't have a husband. Whatever had come over her on the previous evening she had by now shaken off, and she was now gladly taking the usual party towards school.

"How did the kids fare after I left?" Eli asked, looking through his backpack at his various folders and notes. With some dry note to her voice she recounted the way that by the time he had left Jorje seemed to have completely forgotten about what had happened and promptly gone to the sparkling apple juice.

"And it was like nobody had even done anything – I swear-oh!" she recounted, squeaking in surprise when Eli's cell phone suddenly rang. It played the theme song to an old cartoon she remembered watching in her youth but could not place; and Eli grinned as he flicked open the phone.

"I was the dorkiest kid, I tell you." he said briefly before greeting the person on the other end. Ava drove on without trying to listen in on the conversation; which apparently Eli was trying to get out of.

"Dude, you don't even know who this girl is! I told you last night – it's creepy to do that. You don't even know that she goes there on Thursdays. Art – I – no, but -!" his voice stopped and started, laughing in exasperation as the voice on the other line whined audibly.

'_But what if this girl could be the one?' _the voice crackled. Ava's already curved lips cracked into a grin. With a sigh, Eli mumbled a response before hanging up on his caller. The car was silent for a moment, though the children signed to them with the airs of traditionally nosy children.

**Who was that?**

_He sounded dreamy._ Tanya's response to the mysterious voice drove Ava to laughter; the kind that would not be stopped by simple measures.

"That would be the idi-sorry-_kid_ that lives in Apartment 9. You'd think he was 16, not 21, the way he goes on about _girls_." Eli explained, tucking his phone back into his pocket. Jorje stuck his tongue out in disgust.

"You said it, little man. Only girl for me is my mom!" Eli replied, grinning.

"Really? No girlfriend?" Ava asked, taking a right turn into the school parking lot. Had she been paying less attention to the road and more on her quarry, she would have noticed the momentarily clouding of the man's expression. But it was gone before she gave him a second glance, and he shook his head.

"Not for nearly six years now." he said briefly. Without another word the three passengers parted their driver, any foreboding airs about the older man dissipating with his separation.

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Whether she had or hadn't in the end did not turn out to be much of a concern. She pleasured herself with the joy of whipping people into shape, the exhilaration of the treadmill beneath her feet, and the admiration of the dedicated gym members she had come to know through their goodhearted interactions with her.

"I don't know how you do it, Ava," Kendra said, blonde curls bouncing with every movement of her head. "They all love you so much and you practically thrash them with a cane!"

Ava simply blushed, rechecking the items in her bag. Her shift was over.

"They don't all _love_ me." she mumbled. Inside – she frowned. It was thinking like this that got her so distressed the day before. Even now, there was something horribly familiar about where this conversation was going.

"Ah. I get it. Ex husband didn't love you, I know, honey. But really, here you get a fresh new start! I think the next man to come in here and ask you out you should give a chance."

As if called forth by her voice, the door opened...

And Ava laughed.

"What's so funny, m'am?" Jonathan asked, flexing his hand back and forth. The small number 8 tattoo between his thumb and forefinger was clearly visible. Ava shook her head quickly, standing back as Kendra signed the customer in.

"Nothing," Kendra replied enticingly. "But Ava is now bound by my opinion to go on a date with the next fella to ask her out."

And then it happened.

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It was never a lucky day for him. No matter how many times he tried he had not successfully asked a girl out and managed to keep up a relationship without something going wrong – he was sure that even in past lives (if there was such thing) he would have made some movement to end in disastrous consequences, not unlike this one.

As it were, the young man found himself on the floor, the paramedic checking for injuries, and two familiar faces staring down at him. One, the identity of which he knew only too well was fit to burst from contained laughter. The other, too beautiful to mistake for anyone but his maybe destined (maybe!) lover. Who, incidentally, looked like she was going to kick him to the curb, broken bones or not.

It had happened.

* * *

"He was just trying to lift a weight too heavy for his bony little arms, sir." John explained to the paramedic. "Of course he dropped it and got winded by it."

"What were you thinking? You could have seriously hurt yourself!" Ava cried, throwing up her hands in distress. The idiot in front of her simply stared into her eyes, saying nothing, but his cheeks turning pink as if he were embarrassed to be scolded like this.

"We have rules here, bucko," she continued. "Number one rule about weightlifting is to always have somebody spotting you! You think you're going to impress some girl or something by doing that? You're not! You're only going to wind up with a busted back!" she stopped, controlling herself before she ranted further. People were watching, glad that they weren't the poor fellow facing her wrath. Seeing red, she turned on her heel and walked off, signing out before she left the building.

She stopped in the front seat of her car, pausing before she put the keys in the ignition. Really, considering that she had heard a lot about him, she wasn't exactly expecting him to be so reckless (though Eli had said he was crazy) or so skinny (though John had said that he wasn't much) or so much younger looking (though Mr. Alexander – Theodore - had said that he was around her age). Wondering what else was niggling at her (as situations like this usually called for that feeling), she groped for her keys in her bag... but to no avail. Ava swore, realising she had left them inside.

Getting out of the car with a frustrated air, she turned towards the entrance to the gym to see the man she had finally just met for the first time. His face had turned ruddy for reasons she could not place (though his blush made him look...what?), but he smiled at her sheepishly, pleasantly, he smiled at her all the same. After a beat of saying nothing, he held out her car keys in his palm. It occurred to her then how astonishingly _dark_ Artie's hair was.

"You dropped this."


End file.
